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OPINION

Congratulations to our friend, singer Murphey

Our view, Abilene Reporter-News
Published 9:15 p.m. CT Dec. 26, 2017

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Cowboy singer Michael Martin Murphey met Cynthia Thune at Anson's Pioneer Hall two years ago, and it was only fitting they'd marry at this "lively gaited Sworray" on Saturday, Dec. 16, 2017.

Our friend, Michael Martin Murphey, has further endeared himself to us.

And we to him.

For 24 of the past 25 Christmases, the singer has made a stop in Anson to play the Texas Cowboys' Christmas Ball. Though it has been staged for 84 consecutive years, it was a holiday season event that had waned in popularity until Murphey, a native Texan, helped put it back on the map.

While perhaps we take it forgranted, there are those who attend from distant places because it's the the real deal, the Old West come alive.

On Dec. 16, Murphey married Cynthia Tune hours before he played yet another dance. They met at Pioneer Hall two years ago, so getting hitched there was just the way it should be. Guests include their friends and family, as well as those who organize the dance and others who just happened to be in town for dance.

Since he hit it big in early 1975 with the song "Wildfire," Murphey has made a career in music that winds like a river. He's a bit outlaw, a bit Native American, a bit top 40 (though, truthfully, pop came to him, not him to pop), a bit country and, for sure, a lot cowboy. He revels in the history of West and is passionate about its preservation as part of American history.

He has played as many varied venues locally as any musical artist — from the tiny Upstairs Club on Oak Street to the Taylor County Coliseum. He has performed with the Abilene Philharmonic and Hardin-Simmons orchestras, and sung pretty much on his own at Radford Auditorium on the McMurry campus.

And, of course, he has made a home away from home on the range in Anson.

But while he has weaved in and out of genres and seasons of greater popularity than others, his spirit has not changed. When he's in, he's all in.

He appreciates us for keeping cowboys traditions and family spirit going, and welcoming him back like kin each December when he comes in for Christmas.

We appreciate him for faithfully dedicating himself to preserving Pioneer Hall and a holiday dance that dates back to 1885.

Murphey will turn 73 in March and his distinctive tenor remains strong. We hear he has a new album project in the works, and we expect him to keep on making music for years, like another seemingly ageless and one-of-a-kind Texan, Willie Nelson.

We wish Murph happiness in his marriage and many more trips to West Texas.